Illinois College announced today that the newly renovated auditorium in Crispin Hall will be named to honor the campaign chair’s family contributions to the school.
The auditorium is to officially be named the Del ’72 and Lisa Dunham Auditorium in honor of a lead gift made by the family to the College.
Del ’72 and Lisa Dunham, who reside in Texas, are members of the Illinois College Varsity Club and lifetime members of the Illinois College Society. The Dunhams established the Jack Mann and Fred Pilcher Physics and Mathematics Research Support Fund in October 2014 to support physics and math students and faculty in conducting research, and later established the Del ’72 and Lisa Dunham Family Endowed Scholarship. Del has served on the Illinois College Board of Trustees for over 15 years and currently serves as chair of Inspiring Achievement: The Campaign for Illinois College.
The upgraded auditorium was unveiled at the start of the fall semester. Renovations to the space are meant to serve as a large-scale active-learning classroom and dynamic gathering place for campus and community events, with several classes being held in the auditorium this semester, and it was also the site of a recent alumni reception at Homecoming.
According to a press release from the school this morning, revamping the outdated building is a major initiative of Inspiring Achievement: The Campaign for Illinois College.
The auditorium represents the first phase of the plan to transform Crispin, which was built in 1963, into a modern educational facility. The plan for the hall when completed, intends to provide faculty the resources needed to create innovative academic programs and conduct cutting-edge research with students.